The Lottery
by Sincerely The Sign Painter
Summary: "We better get started." Alex said quietly. Kong nodded solemnly and held out the lottery sticks. Bones shuttered. When was the last time they had to using them to decided who would die? No one needed to explain the rules. They all knew the game by now. The person with the red stick would be sacrificed. Or: Eiji leaves for a week and it's up to Ash's gang to wake up their boss.


9:50 AM

Kong, Bones, Alex and a few other members of Ash's gang gathered at the entrance of their boss's room. They crouched there, forming a small semi-circle, around the doorway. The gloomy atmosphere kept all of them in place. Inside the room they could hear the faint sound of their boss's snores. They all knew what they had to do but the idea of doing so was terrible. They still remembered the words that Ash had spoken yesterday.

_Wake me up at 10:00 in the morning, no sooner no later. _

He had told them that in a nonnegotiable tone. It was like a death sentence; a suicide mission. There was no way to do such a thing without dying in the process. In the pass they didn't need to wake up the boss that often, perhaps only once or twice a week. Eiji however had started implementing wake up times for Ash to get him into a 'steady sleep cycle'. He said Ash would feel much better with a regular sleep pattern. Therefore, he started waking Ash up every morning at 10:00. The guys didn't think much about Ash's sleeping habits at the time. Whenever he got up was fine, as long as it was Eiji who woke him. Eiji had the uncanny ability to stray into the lion's den to wake the slumbering lynx without fearing for his life.

The real problem arose when Eiji had declared that he was taking a week off to go to a 'photo seminar' with Ibe. Out of respect for Eiji's wishes Ash had kept Eiji's strict morning schedule. It now fell on the men to soldier forward and fight the war against the low blood pressure prince, Ash Lynx. Today was the first day Eiji was away.

9:55 AM

"We better get started." Alex said quietly breaking the gloomy silence. "Did you bring them?" All eyes turned to Kong. Kong nodded solemnly and held out the object in question. It was an old can filled with thin sticks. Although they couldn't see it, they knew that all but one of the sticks had a blue tip. The last one had a red one. They would draw sticks until someone got the red one. The sticks were facing down so no one knew which stick they would draw. The unlucky soul who drew red would be the one sent in to wake up Ash.

Bones shuttered and he saw many of the men there copy his movement. When was the last time they had to resort to the lottery sticks to be decided who would die? It had been months, no years now. He had forgotten how sick it made him feel to hear the sticks clanging against the can. How terrible it was to put your life in the hands of a stick that could decide whether you lived or died. The group was silent staring down at the can. No one needed to explain the rules. They all knew the game by now. The person with the red tipped stick would be sacrificed. He would venture alone into the death trap, taking the fall so the rest of the men could live another day.

9:56

"Alright" Alex said finally breaking the silence. "We can't put it off anymore. I'll go first." Bones marveled at Alex's bravery. It was times like this that he truly respected Alex as second in command. Alex reached forward and took a stick.

Blue

Next to Alex another man drew.

Blue

Now it was Bones turn. Everyone watched as he reached out to pick one. All of sticks looked the same. To keep the game fair, they often traded off old or dented sticks so none of them had any mark on them. There was no way to know which one you'd get. His figures touched the smooth surface of the sticks and he grasped one that was near the middle. Taking a deep breath in he pulled it out.

Blue

Bones tried not to give a sigh of relief. It would be cruel for him to act that way when someone still had to die. He was just lucky today, that's all. He grasped his stick tightly as Kong, who was sitting next to him, picked a stick.

Red.

The men around the semi-circle gave groans of sympathy as Kong looked down at the stick that sealed his fate. Kong did not look upset, no, he knew what he was getting into when he joined this gang. He knew of this battle that must be fought. Bones knew that Kong would face his death with dignity and pride. Kong turned and put the stick back into the container then nod at Alex. Alex patted his shoulder while the other men nodded gravely. Lastly Kong turned towards Bones. The two men stared at each other. Out of everyone in the gang Kong was closest to Bones. Bones gave an understanding nod and Kong stood up to face the lion's den. He stepped into the room and began slowly walking, his head held high. He didn't look back, not even once. He didn't even pausing on his steady match towards death.

Bones wanted to look away and shield his eyes. He didn't want to watch his close friend lose everything, but he knew he had to watch until the end. All the men would be there until the end. They would all give the brave solder mental support for his battle that he must fight alone.

9:59

Kong reached the bed and looked down at the pile of blankets that hid their lethal leader from view. Now that he had arrived at the execution site, Kong finally stopped. He stood there gathering his courage. Bones hoped that his and the other men's presents would give him the strength to do what must be done. There wasn't any sound in the room except for the snores of their leader. Bones and the others held their breath and waited.

10:00

It was time. Kong reached down and gently put his hand on the pile of blankets. He shook them slightly.

"Hey it's 10:00. Time to get up." he said, impersonation Eiji's voice almost perfectly. Kong clearly hoped that paying respect to the young lion tamer would sooth their boss's savage soul and allow an ounce of mercy to cross his heart. Perhaps Kong thought he could get away unharmed by provoking the words of the beloved Japanese. If that was what he thought then he was wrong.

The blanket rustled and Bones felt his heart start racing. This was it, the final curtain. A gap appeared on one side of the blankets and two green eyes glared out. The tempter in the room seemed dropped a few degrees as the lynx's eyes moved slowly towards the one who disturbed him. They rested on Kong and, before Kong had time to react, a hand shot out from under the blankets. It grabbed Kong's exposed wrist and pulled it forward. Everyone watched in horror as Kong was lifted off the ground and flung across the room, a look of shock on his face.

Bones watched his soaring comrade with pitying eyes. He would not cry; no Kong would not appreciate that. Instead he would pray for a swift and painless end for his condemned friend. Kong went crashing into the wall and fell with a grunt to the floor. A few seconds later he gave a long pities groan. All the men watching bowed their head for a moment of silence. Any member who was wearing a hat took it off and held it to his heart for their fallen comrade. In the silence they thanked Kong for his sacrifice to appease the wrathful god of the morning that possessed their leader.

When they looked up again from their reverent silence, they found that the Lynx had turned his attention towards the door. He glared at all of them with a feral look and gave a low menacing growl. None of the men waited around to see what would happened next. Without a backward glance they scurried for the room, fleeing for their lives. Bones was stepped on as the men scrabbling over each other in their haste to get away. They took of down the hall. Bones and a few other members took shelter downstairs in the kitchen. All of them hoped that the food there would help Ash regain his sense.

For the rest of the day everyone was extremely nice to Kong. He had a massive headache and was constantly rubbing his forehead which was sprouting a nice big blue bruise. He took it well though and still helped out around the base. He even admitted later to Bones that he was glad he went first since, after his death, he no longer had to participate in the lottery. The mood in the base was subdue. Everyone was holding on to the faint hope that they would not be chosen next to die. This death game would last for a week after all. That meant only six more men would have to parish before peace was restored. Bones wondered if he would last the week.

The death lottery continued for the next couple of days. One by one they lost comrades and faithful friends to Ash's morning temper and his demanded for blood. Alex fell on Wednesday. Bones was not there to witness the second in command's demise; he had gotten out of participating in that day's lottery by taking over guard duty. He was patrolling the first floor when he heard a crash followed by the sound of broken glass falling to the ground. His heart stopped as he changed outside to find the cause of the noise. There he found small group of gang member standing around in a circle, looking down at something. When Bones joined them, he saw that they were looking at Alex who was lying on his back, a dazed look on his face. The men muttered to one another in confusion. No one knew what happened. Finally, someone, who participated in that day's lottery, explained that Alex had lost and was flung through the window. Sure enough, when the men looked up, they saw Ash standing at the broken window, glaring down a them like a cat observing his prey. They quickly dispersed. Bones and a few others helped Alex to his feet. The second in command muttered under his breath: "I think I saw the face of God" as he was taken inside.

On Friday, Bones' luck ran out. He stared down in disbelief at the red tipped stick in his hand. He had thought he would make it. He was so close; he almost survived the week. Eiji would be home in a couple of hours to stop this sick game. Why was it him who got the last red stick? Bones shook his head. He was being selfish. It was better this way. He would take the fall so another one of his comrades could keep on living. He needed to take this like a man. He would face his death with dignity. Casting the lot away from him he rose to his feet and threw back his shoulders. He walked with confidence towards Ash's doorway. As he passed the other men pulled back in respect. He continued his march into the room, letting the beat of his heart match his footsteps. He thought of his fallen friends, those who went before him. He thought of Kong, Alex and the four others who were waiting for him on the other side. Yes, he would be joining them soon. He reached the executioner's block and looked down at the pile of blankets.

"Boss it's time to get up!" He said loudly. He heard a gasp of surprise behind him but ignored it. Let them be shocked at his loudness and bluntness. If he was going out, he was going out with a bang. The blankets shifted and rose to a sitting position. Bone's fight or flight instincts kicked in and he wanted to run from the room but held his position. It was his job to make sure their boss got up and he would follow through until the bitter end. The blankets were now vertical. They shook and slowly a head rose out of them like monster from the ocean. First blond hair was visible, then the angry green piercing eyes, then the grumpy frowning mouth. The blanket stopped under Ash's chin and Bones knew his time on Earth was coming to the end. The Lynx turned his death gaze slowly on Bones then…

"Morning Bones, morning Ash!" Bones whipped around to see Eiji enter the room. Behind him the other gang members peered through the doorway their mouths agape. "It's 10:00, time for breakfast!"

"You're back early." Bones said startled. Eiji turned smiling cheerfully at him.

"The seminar ended early." The Japanese chirped. "So, I got back in time for breakfast." He turned back to Ash. "Let's go eat!" Eiji strolled past Bones to the bed and began wrapping the blankets around the seething Blond. The Lynx growled but didn't stop him. Finally, when he was wrapped in an Ash blanket burrito Eiji scooped him up with surprisingly strength and began carrying him out of the room. Bones had forgotten that Eiji was an athlete. It was times like this that he truly apricated what that meant. Ash rustled a little in the blankets but didn't try to escape his captor. Instead he turned his head slowly around to glare at Bones. It was amazing how Ash could still look extremely intimidating while wrapped in a blanket burrito and carried by the small Japanese. Bones knew that Eiji's arms were the only thing keeping him from certain death.

When Eiji and Ash left the room, Bones gave a sigh of relief and sunk to the ground. Behind him he could hear the murmurs of the other men. He knew what they must be thinking. Who did Bones pray to or what lucky item did Bones obtain to be sent an angle who would reach out a hand to Ash's demons and say,

"Not let this one, let him be spared."

Bones didn't know what he did but he knew he was extremely lucky. He got shakily back to his feet and walked down the hall. As he turned a corner, he passed Kong who grumbled:

"Lucky dog." Bones saw that he still had the remains of the bruise on his forehead.

"Yeah I got lucky." Bones chuckled. Kong gave a rueful smile and Bones smiled back. It was the first time all the week that he truly smiled. They turned and headed together downstairs to get food. Now that Eiji was back the overall quality of food would increase. With the battle was over and won and the savage beast soothed, Bones found the other men were in high spirts. As long as Eiji was around there would be no reason to have another lottery. Bones hoped that Eiji would stay for a very, very, very long time.


End file.
